WINNIPEG — The city is looking at how to conduct annual rooming house inspections.
The inspections would enforce the city’s livability bylaw, which is a set of rules for landlords based on safety and quality of life issues.
“It’s easy for the city to ignore them and ignore their safety and ignore their quality of life needs and we’re saying you can’t do it anymore,” said the chair of the Point Douglas Residents Committee Sel Burrows.
Burrows is one of the people who brought the idea for annual livability inspections to City Hall.
It would not include fire code inspections but Burrows said those should be reinstated “tomorrow.”
READ: Two victims identified in deadly rooming house fire
A suspected arson at a rooming house in North Point Douglas on Austin St. North last week killed two people.
Police say that fire was deliberately set and the homicide unit is investigating.
Under the livability by-law inspections for non-fire safety issues, are complaint based.
Mynarski Councillor Ross Eadie says the system prevents issues like cleanliness or overcrowding from being dealt with because tenants are worried about losing their rooms.
“They’re not going to complain because they don’t want to get kicked out. It takes a long time for people to find affordable house,” Eadie said. “So the intention here is to do annual inspections to ensure properties provide good living conditions.”